Sodom and Gomorrah

Genesis 19 confronts us with one of Scripture's most sobering narratives—the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah—but at its heart, this isn't merely a story about divine judgment. It's a profound examination of what happens when we attempt to live with one foot in the kingdom of God and the other in the world's corruption. We meet Lot, Abraham's nephew, described remarkably as 'righteous' despite his catastrophic decisions, living at the gates of a city crying out for justice. His story becomes our mirror: How often do we negotiate with evil, thinking we can manage both worlds? The angels' arrival forces a crisis moment—Lot must finally choose whose voice he'll follow when Abraham isn't there to rescue him anymore. This passage reveals that faith eventually demands we stand alone before God, making our own choice rather than riding on someone else's spiritual coattails. The urgency of the angels' command—'Get up! Don't look back! Keep running from evil!'—echoes through centuries to us today. We're challenged to examine where we're lingering, what sins we're negotiating with, and whether we've surrounded ourselves so thoroughly with wickedness that we can no longer see the righteous path forward. Yet beautifully woven throughout is God's relentless mercy: even when Lot hesitates, even when he negotiates, even when his family mocks him, the angels physically seize him and pull him to safety. Sometimes we need fellow believers to grab us by the hand when we're too discouraged to move, reminding us that the righteous fall seven times but rise again—often because someone loved them enough to help them stand.